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G20’s US$14-trillion economic stimulus reneges on emissions pledges

Analysis of pandemic economic recovery packages from the 20 largest economies reveals that governments are not spending on emissions cuts despite promises to ‘build back better’.
  1. Jonas M. Nahm

    1. Jonas M. Nahm is an assistant professor in the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, USA.

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  2. Scot M. Miller

    1. Scot M. Miller is an assistant professor in the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

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  3. Johannes Urpelainen

    1. Johannes Urpelainen is a professor of Energy, Resources and Environment in the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, USA.

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An excavator waiting inside a dump truck at a coal mine in Indonesia

An excavator at a coal mine in Indonesia. The country holds the 2022 presidency of the G20 group of largest economies. Credit: Afriadi Hikmal/NurPhoto/Getty

Governments are spending unprecedented amounts to escape the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, the G20 group of the 20 largest economies spent at least US$14 trillion — close to China’s annual gross domestic product. Much of that total, rightly, went to shoring up health-care systems, wages and welfare. But climate action was widely promised, too — including ‘green new deals’ and ‘building back better’.

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Nature 603, 28-31 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00540-6

References

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Supplementary Information

  1. Supplementary methods and description of data
  2. G20 fiscal stimulus spending and effect on emissions

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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